OCZ Unveils Onyx 2 SSD – Touting Excellent Price to Performace Ratio

For as long as we enthusiasts have cared about the solid-state drive, OCZ has been there delivering us some of the best offerings available. Today, the company offers ultra-fast SATA and PCI Express models, along with lesser-expensive models for price-concious consumers. Earlier this year, the company released its Onyx series, which aimed to deliver awesome performance along with an awesome price.

Of course, those lesser-expensive models have been of huge focus for a great number of consumers, because let’s face it… even at the low-end, the price per GB for SSDs is sometimes hard to stomach. But, series like the Onyx have helped ease the pain a little, and in the case of the just-launched Onyx 2, things just got even better.

Once available at retail, the 120GB version of the Onyx 2 should be sold for around $189.99, while the 240GB model will be a bit above double that, at $439.99. At $190 for the 120GB, that gives us a $/GB value of $1.58/GB. That’s good. Of course, for it to be truly good, performance has to match, and in this case, it does.

Similar to OCZ’s flagship Vertex 2 series, the initial Onyx 2 SSDs will offer a max read speed of 275MB/s and max write speed of 265MB/s, with an overall sustained write speed of 240MB/s. If there’s one detriment, it’s that the Onyx 2 drops the super-high IOPS performance of the Vertex 2 down to 10,000 IOPS. Compared to a typical hard drive (~>150 IOPS), though, it’s hard to call that anything but impressive.

It’s hard to say when these Onyx 2 models will become available for purchase, but it should be quite soon, as some e-tailers have already begun listing them.

SAN JOSE, CA—September 27, 2010—OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, has unveiled the OCZ Onyx 2 Series, a 2.5 inch SSD with superior affordability designed for mainstream desktops and mobile systems. Offering a faster and more durable alternative to traditional hard drives in a cost-efficient solution, the Onyx 2 delivers excellent performance with lower price per gigabyte than that of other comparable drives on the market.